Best Self Help

The Firm Express – Get Thin in 30

The Firm Express says you can lose 15 pounds in 30 days.

What is The FIRM Express?

The FIRM is one of the most trusted brands in home fitness; selling over 25 million copies worldwide.

The FIRM’s latest innovation is The FIRM Express Get Thin in 30. It’s their quickest, most effective weight loss plan yet. All it takes is three 20-minute workouts a week!

• A Revolutionary Technique Called Mini Bursts, quick blast intervals combined with The FIRM’s already powerful Cardio + Sculpt fitness method. Guaranteed to get you thinner, tighter and leaner – fast!

• 30-Day, four cycle system specifically sequenced to optimize weight loss in just 30 short days

• Burn up to 9X more fat than traditional cardio workouts

• Includes: 12 all-new DVDs, a Fitness Guide with a 30-day mix and match meal plan and workout calendar, plus Kick Start your Metabolism 2 pack Bonus DVD set including Pump it Up for intense training and Shortcut to Flat Abs.

Burn up to 9x more fat than regular cardio alone, while sculpting lean muscle and supercharging your metabolism.

Try it Today!

The FIRM Express Get Thin in 30 is the next generation in accelerated weight loss. It’s our quickest, most effective weight loss plan yet. A $350 value for only 3 payments of $29.99. Start today and Get thin in 30!

How to Break a Weight Loss Plateau

Have you hit a brick wall in your weight loss efforts?

Have you hit a weight loss plateau?

You are continuing with your program but the scale doesn’t seem to want to budge. It can strike a devastating blow to dieters who once saw great losses with their weight loss program.

The most important thing is not to lose heart. Plateaus occur in just about everyone’s weight-loss journey at one time or another. But, one key to overcoming them is to be prepared for when they come. Knowing what to do next can save you from throwing in the towel altogether.

Why Plateaus Occur

Think of your body as well-oiled a machine. You feed it and it uses that fuel to go about its daily processes. When given the right foods, it will burn fat stores for energy. More energy out and less food intake equals a lower body weight for you.

When you first begin an exercise or dieting program, there is a caloric deficit because you are changing something. Either there is a decrease in food intake or you have a greater calorie output through exercise. In response to exercise, the body burns more calories because you are doing something new with it. The muscles are confused and need to catch up. This is good.

Over time, however, the body can get used to the routine. If you are exercising, you may notice that you are no longer huffing and puffing when you perform a certain exercise. You are getting more fit. YOur body isn’t burning as many calories as it could be.

Jumping Off That Plateau

Now that you know how you came to encounter the plateau, it’s time to jump off of it. Here are some suggestions to do that.

* Change your fitness routine – Physical trainers recommend changing your fitness routine every four to six weeks. You don’t have to change your entire routine, just add to it. If you are doing only cardio workouts, add some weight training to break it up and confuse those muscles into burning more fat.

* Check your diet – As we get more confident in our eating habits, sometimes we relax them. The portion size may be creeping up or we are eating out more. Use a food diary to see what changes, if any, have occurred that could be adding more calories to your day.

* Go back to basics – Now might be the time to kickstart your weight loss efforts again with a more structured diet, especially if you’ve been getting relaxed about some of your food choices. We post coupon codes for our favorite diets here at BestSelfHelp, so it doesn’t cost much to get started:

Weight Watchers Coupons
Medifast Coupons
NutriSystem Coupons
Diet to Go Coupon

Plateaus don’t have to derail your weight-loss program. Learn to recognize them and fling yourself off that weight loss plateau as soon as you encounter it!

Diet Pill Side Effects

When it comes to losing weight, there are no easy answers. Some people may turn to diet pills to help them win the battle of the bulge. But, what is really in those pills that you are taking?

What are the side effects of those diet pills?

To really know the answer, you need to look carefully at the research – beyond the product packaging – and take the information seriously. Do some diligent research before you decide to take a diet pill. These side effects are potentially very serious, and this is your body – for life.

Advertising is everything these days. Companies use it on billboards, commercials, in magazines and the sometimes infamous infomercials to entice you to buy their product. This is seen to a great extent in the industry of health and fitness.

And advertising for diet pills is everywhere. They lay claims that they can do everything from helping you lose twenty pounds in a month to burning extra fat while you eat what you want. However, the commercials may not be what they seem. Some say that results are not typical and others claim that results are not even as good as they claim.

With all of that said, diet pill sales are still climbing each year. People want answers to their weight issues. But, before you reach for another pill, investigate the facts.

Diet Pill Facts

There are a few facts but most of them concern the downside of diet pills. Remember Fen-Phen? It was pulled off the market for causing problems with mitral heart valves and other conditions. The ingredients in these diet pills are not good for your body.

Some diet pills can become addictive. When you take them, you feel better and feel a withdrawal when you stop. Anything addictive is not necessarily good for the body.

Take Precautions

Read the labels. See exactly what they are placing in the diet pills. On most labels, companies are required to list their ingredients in relation to their presence in the finished product. This means that if hoodia is added to a diet pill and is near the bottom of the ingredient list, then the pill contains other substances in greater amount than this main ingredient.

Consult your doctor or a nutritionist. They have made it their business to study diet and nutrition. They may be able to give you a handle on which pills are not good and which ones are safe to use.

Most pills, whether diet or prescription, have side effects. Know them before you buy a diet pill. Common side effects are insomnia, headache, dry mouth and diarrhea. More serious side effects of some diet pills include heart palpitations, angina, dizziness and heart arrhythmias. If you feel any of these things, stop taking your pills immediately.

Since diet pills are not regulated, their ingredients are not subject to scrutiny. The side effects of these pills can range from mild to life threatening. Know what you are getting into before you use them.

Our recommendation is to use a diet program that helps you to naturally change your eating habits and to help you eat more healthfully. Our favorites? Weight Watchers and Medifast (for a meal replacement diet).

Other resources you might enjoy:

The Joy of Weight Loss: The Pill-Free, Great Food, and No-Diet Diet for Health and Well-Being
Price: $10.17
The Joy of Weight Loss is the dramatic story of how Norris Chumley turned his life around. It details how Chumley came to accept his conflict about food and body image and finally looked long and hard at his weight fluctuations and diet history. Chumley shares his experiences and secrets of success – of how he discovered joy and lasting happiness, with permanent freedom from obesity.

The Diet Pill Book: A Consumer’s Guide to Prescription and Over-The-Counter Weight-Loss Pills and Supplements
Price: $8.3
The only guide to provide the pros and cons of weight-loss supplements.
Never before has there been such a need for a thorough handbook on the benefits and dangers of weight-loss supplements. Americans are spending nearly $1 billion annually on diet pills, and they need to know whether these products are effective and safe. The Diet Pill Book gives them the tools to do just that. With entries for over 200 name-brand products, this book explains:
- Whether the ingredients promote weight loss and if so, how
- What dosage is sufficient to promote weight loss; what ingredients are simply fillers
- If there are reliable studies to support the manufacturer’s claims
- Whether the product appears to be safe or if it interacts poorly with other drugs or foods and has diet pill side effects.

The Female Athlete’s Body Book

Review: The Female Athlete’s Body Book
Review by: APCKelly

More and more women are enjoying and competing in all sorts of sport activities. With the increase in training comes the risk of injuries.

“The Female Athlete’s Body Book: How to Prevent and Treat Sports injuries in Women and Girls” comes to us from Dr Gloria Beim, a well-known orthopaedic surgeon, who specializes in sports injuries, such as shoulder surgery, knee surgery, arthroscopy and sports medicine. Dr. Beim runs her own practice, but is also the expert physician for the US Track Cycling Team. Her vast experience in the field of sports medicine, injury prevention and treatment is gathered in her book.

In her first chapter, she describes the issues, i.e. injury risks of popular sports. From basketball, volleyball, cycling, tennis, ice skating, scuba diving, golf, running to rock climbing. Each sport comes with injury risks and the author gives very detailed information on how to prevent these risks and what to do if injuries occur.

As this is a book for female athletes, she also explains about proper nutrition and training for women of all ages, i.e. from girls to older women. How to stay safe when you are pregnant, dealing with menstrual problems during exercise and other women-related sports topics you will find, no doubt, very informative.

Women’s bodies are different from men’s bodies, so when it comes to sport, this book gives the female-only view of the injury risks and prevention tips.

Overall, I think that this book is ideal for any female athlete who wants to be safe while enjoying sport at any age.

More information on this title, available today from Barnes & Noble:

The Female Athlete’s Body Book
Price: $9.98
The first authoritative guide for keeping female athletes healthy and injury freeWomen’s and girls’ participation in sports grows exponentially every year, and everyone knows that women’s bodies are constructed differently from men’s, yet there have been no books on sports injury and health specific to a female athlete’s needs. Until now. In The Female Athlete’s Body Book, Dr. Gloria Beim-orthopedic surgeon, physician in the Olympic Training Center Sports Medicine Program, and accomplished athlete-presents the first authoritative sourcebook for every female athlete who wants to get in the game and stay there.

She provides sound advice on an array of concerns including:

How to minimize injury while enhancing sports performance

Nutrition and training for top performance and lifelong health

The specific needs of younger, pregnant, and mature athletes

How to fight menstrual problems, bone loss, and eating disorders

What to do when an injury occurs

Low Fat, Low Calorie

Does Low Fat Equal Low Calorie?

In the quest for better health, more and more of us are reading food labels. These food labels contain a great deal of information, including the number of fat grams as well as the number of calories per serving. But if a food is low in fat, does that mean it will also be low in calorie? And does it matter? Are all fats created equal?

Relationship between Fat and Calories

Each different nutrient contains a different calorie amount. For instance, carbohydrates and protein contain about four calories each. Fat contains twice that: 8 calories per gram. That means you’ll need to burn eight calories to eliminate one gram of fat.

And that’s one reason people are drawn in by packaging that says “low fat” or “fat free.” But, don’t just take for granted that the fat content is the only information you have to worry about. It is important to read all of the information on the label.

The Truth about Low Fat, Low Calories

Calories per serving means the total caloric content of the ingredients in a food divided by the portion size. To that end, low calorie snacks may be thus because there are less of them in a serving size. Consider those 100-calorie snacks. Sure you are only getting 100 calories with each bag, but you may only get ten small pieces in each bag. Is that going to satisfy you?

The calorie count may be 100, but what about the fat content? If the same ingredients are used in the low calorie as in the original, then the fat content may be the same but you are just getting less. Actually you have gained nothing this way.

Let’s not forget sugar. Pure sugar has no fat content but plenty of calories. Foods that say fat free or low fat may be substituting sugars for the fat. The calorie content will rise with each serving you eat. Excess calories increase fat stores just like eating unhealthy fats.

The Truth about Fats

All fats are not created equal. A serving of walnuts may have ten grams of fat but it is unsaturated fat. They also contain omega-3 fatty acids that help improve heart health and boost immunity. Plus these fats will help keep you feeling energized and satisfied longer than some of the alternative low-fat snack choices.

Eating a chicken sandwich from a fast food joint may have lower calories because it is a lean cut of chicken, but frying can add more fat to the equation than you need. You are gaining more saturated fats, which we need less of in our daily diet.

To Answer the Question: Does Low Fat mean Low Calorie?

So, does low fat mean low calorie? In many cases the answer is no. It all depends on the type of food you are eating. Eating processed foods brings up this issue. On the other hand, fresh foods don’t have added preservatives so it is possible to have low calorie veggies which are also low in fat.

Read your food labels. There are many hidden ways to add more calories to a serving while keeping the fat content low.

For Further Study:

The Truth about Fats & Carbs
Available for immediate download.

Cooking Light Low-Fat Low-Calorie: Quick & Easy Cookbook (Low Fat Ways to Cook)
Price: $34.95
For cooks who want more with less, the recipes featured in this cookbook include ten or fewer common ingredients, easy step-by-step instructions, and a complete nutritional analysis along with a list of the American Dietetic Association exchange for each serving.

The 1200-Calorie-A-Day Menu Cookbook: Quick and Easy Recipes for Delicious Low-Fat Breakfasts, Lunches, Dinners, and Desserts
Price: $10.36
In this collection of satisfying low-fat, low-calorie recipes, every breakfast menu contains no more than 300 calories, every lunch only 350, and every dinner comes in at 400 calories or less. Choose from hundreds of combinations-all which can be prepared in 15 minutes or less. All recipes include the fat content per serving.

Eat What You Love: More Than 300 Incredible Recipes Low in Sugar, Fat and Calories
Price: $20.97
Enjoy all the delicious foods you love-guilt free as you effortlessly cut the sugar, slash the fat and calories, and curb the excess carbs.”Eat What You Love”is the perfect family cookbook with healthy recipes that never sacrifice taste.

Potassium Rich Foods List

The body counts on potassium. It is useful in muscle tissue, bone development, heart health and a number of other systems in the body. But, it is quite deficient in most of our daily nutrient profiles. You could be lacking the correct amount of potassium right now and not even realize it.

The Effects of Low Potassium

Are you feeling tired even when you exercise? This could be a result of hypokalemia (low potassium levels). You may also experience muscle cramps during exercise, confusion, lack of coordination and weakness. Because potassium is important for health, you could be increasing irregularities in your heart by reducing your potassium intake. If you think you are suffering from a potassium deficiency, talk to your doctor.

How to Introduce Potassium into Your Life

The best way to get any nutrient is from fresh foods. For potassium, you are in luck. Several foods contain it. The most notable is bananas. Other foods are: leafy green vegetables, apricots, fish, chicken, lean meat and kiwi fruits.

These don’t have to be eaten as is. Here are some ideas for recipes to incorporate more potassium into your diet.

* Trail Mix – Who doesn’t love trail mix? Instead of buying it from the store, create your own with no preservatives. Add dried apricots, raisins, shelled peanuts, sliced almonds, and oats. Eating a handful of trail mix a couple of times a day provides vitamin C, vitamin E, healthy fats and potassium.

* Banana smoothies – A smoothie is filling and can be used as a quick breakfast or a sweet dessert. Combine a sliced banana, strawberries, blueberries, vanilla yogurt, and a splash of apple juice and ice cubes. Mix well. If you need more sweetness, add a packet of Truvia or your favorite sweetener.

* Candied carrots – Instead of green beans, dazzle your family tonight with julienned candied carrots. Slice a carrot into strips. Sauté veggies and a little butter in a skillet. Add some brown sugar. Cook until tender.

* Sautéed greens – Green vegetables are filled with plenty of good stuff, including potassium. Create a savory side dish by chopping and cooking down your leafy greens (Swiss chard, collard greens). In the meantime, sauté some fresh garlic in a skillet. Add your leafy greens and let the garlic infuse into it. Serve with baked chicken breasts or lean pork loin.

* Vegetable soup – Make at home to increase the flavor without adding preservatives. Add chunks of squash, stewed tomatoes, lentils, kidney beans, corn, chopped onions and water. Let it cook slowly. Add your favorite spices like salt, pepper, and some chili powder for a kick.

Why Starvation Diets Don’t Work

Starving yourself to lose weight doesn’t work. Here’s why.

How the Body Works

We eat food. That food is broken down by the body in certain organs so that the nutrients can be used. Some of those nutrients fuel muscle growth, cellular growth and metabolism. The body is a well-oiled machine as long as we treat it right.

Movement burns calories. It takes a deficit of 3,500 calories to lose one pound. That means that we need to burn more calories than we eat each day if we are to lose weight. The type of movement we are talking about is not simply walking out the door or walking to the office. Set aside time each day for some type of physical activity.

Many people turn to starvation diets to lose weight when they have tried everything else. At first, it may seem that you are losing weight but the reality of the situation soon comes to light.

Metabolism is the word that describes how the body uses energy. Internal functions of the body need energy to operate. This means cellular metabolism and other operations that the body needs to perform to keep you moving each day.

As we eat food, the body uses what it can. What it doesn’t need for energy gets stored as fat or excreted. More often than not, a lot of extra calories get stored as fat. It is fat that we want to get rid of when we go on a diet plan.

Starvation Diets

Starvation diets restrict the number of calories that the body takes in, in an effort to lose weight. The minimum number of calories needed for the body to function properly is 1,000 calories. When you drop below that, you are putting your body in a vulnerable state.

The body knows how to recognize starvation mode. Think about if you are stranded somewhere without food. The body can last a couple of weeks without food because it preserves the fat stores and rations its energy.

If the body goes from taking in a couple thousand calories to only getting about 700, it recognizes this as starvation. The body will hold on to the fat stores it already has. For energy, it will utilize muscle. So, even if you are weight training, your body can show muscle loss if you are on a starvation diet because the body is robbing the muscle for energy.

As muscle goes, the body’s metabolism lowers. The body doesn’t want to use more energy than it needs. You could be working out like a maniac and you still wouldn’t lose a pound of fat.

Instead, eat foods that are low in calories but high in nutritional value. Eating the right foods for weight loss is a more plausible option than to stop eating altogether.

BestSelfHelp.com recommends a few different diets, and we publish coupon codes on our favorites, as well. Here are the latest Weight Watchers coupons. If you prefer meal replacement diets, here are Medifast Coupons and Diet to Go coupons.

7 Simple Ways to Burn More Fat Each Day

When it comes to diet and weight loss, it’s the simple changes that you successfully make in your everyday life that create the most lasting changes.

When combined with a healthy diet and fitness program, a few simple steps can really amplify your results.

Here are seven simple ways to burn more fat each day:

1. Move your body just a little bit more. It’s been proven that people who move a lot during the day are healthier and skinner than those who sit. Even if those who sit consume fewer calories. Why? Because our bodies are designed to move. Add steps to your day. In fact, aim to take at least 10,000 steps a day. Walk more. Take the stairs. It really can make a difference.

2. Eat with consciousness. A hectic and busy life often means you don’t spend much time eating your food. In fact, if you timed how long it takes you to eat your biggest meal you’d be surprised. It’s likely less than five to ten minutes. When it takes twenty minutes for your body to register that you’re full. Eat more slowly and deliberately. Eat foods that promote fat burning. For example, eat more whole grains.

3. Take advantage of time pockets. If you’re like most people then you have pockets of time during your day. Maybe you’re waiting for a phone call. Maybe you’re waiting for a meeting or an appointment. While you’re waiting, do a few squats. Do some pushups or take a quick walk. Use your free time to squeeze in a few exercises or movements.

4. Movement, movement, movement. The more you move your body the more fat you’re going to burn. In fact, studies have shown that continuous movement throughout the day is better for weight loss than a sedentary lifestyle supplemented with a daily workout. Aim to walk at least 10,000 steps each day. Exercise. Lift weights. Get your body moving!

5. Sleep well. Sleep helps you burn fat on many levels. On a very basic level it gives you more energy. This means you have energy to get and stay active all day long. On another level, sleep helps optimize your body’s metabolism and other systems. According to a study by the American Journal of Epidemiology and reported in Women’s Health, when you don’t get enough sleep your brain thinks you’re low on fuel. In turn it triggers your stomach to start growling. You think you’re hungry and you eat. The study found that women who slept for 5 hours or less were an average of 5 pounds heavier than women who snoozed for 7 hours. Read BestSelfHelp’s Top Sleep Boosters.

6. Drink water and green tea. Green tea is a natural fat burner. Additionally, the caffeine may rev your metabolism. And drinking a glass of water or green tea before a meal or a snack will help you feel fuller.

7. Eat several times a day. It sounds strange. When you eat more often you can lose weight. They key is the size of your meals and what you eat. When you eat smaller healthy meals with whole grains, protein and fruits or vegetables you balance your blood sugar. This helps keep your metabolism humming and burning fat. Instead of eating three larger meals, eat five to six smaller meals.

Fat burning is a combination of eating well and exercising. However, you can add a few simple steps to amplify your efforts. Get burning that fat and reach your weight loss goals more quickly.

To learn more, download Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle
This is the Fat Burning Diet “bible” – Others come and go, Burn the Fat is a perennial bestseller since 2003. Click here to learn more.

A Healthier Easter

Easter is a time of family gatherings, often surrounded by food. Especially, it seems, those foods laden with cheese and/or chocolate. This Easter, if you are the one who is preparing the meal, here are some healthy ways to reduce the fat this Easter.

First, don’t think every food connected with this holiday is unhealthy. Hard-boiled eggs are high in protein (and also a source of cholesterol).

Here are some egg ideas. Scoop out the yolk from the eggs and allow the kids to eat the egg whites. Sprinkle with a bit of salt and pepper. The eggs can also be used to make reduced-calorie deviled eggs. When making your filling for the egg white, try to cut the use of egg yolk by fifty percent. Mix with fat-free mayonnaise, a little vinegar and some mustard. Sprinkle the top with paprika.

How about your dessert? One thing that is a staple of Easter is chocolate candy and those marshmallow bunnies called Peeps.

Dessert alternatives can include:

* Jell-O Easter eggs and bunnies
* Dark chocolate spoons or candy bunnies
* Low-fat carrot cake
* Pudding with whipped cream

You can purchase Jell-O molds or use cookie cutters. Mix your gelatin and then pour into the molds. Kids can shake, jiggle and then eat their treats.

Chocolate is not all bad. Darker chocolate contains more cocoa solids and has more of an antioxidant benefit. Create your own chocolate by melting dark chocolate and pouring on plastic spoons. Allow them to set. It makes a perfect sweet treat for children.

As for Easter cake, replace part of the flour in your carrot cake with whole wheat flour.  Also you can replace some of the oil with applesauce to cut the fat.

What about the main meal? Some people have ham or lamb. If you choose the lamb, get it from a butcher. Ask them to remove as much of the fat as they can, even going so far as to butterfly the piece of meat. Rub the outside with various herbs and even some olive oil before roasting.

Ham can be a salty dish. Opt instead for a roasted, glazed turkey breast or a whole roasted chicken. Want some pork in the dish? Cross a couple of pieces of bacon on the top as a tasty and decorative addition.

Wherever you can, try to trim the fat and calories from your favorite dishes at Easter. Enjoy the day and the food without gaining extra pounds in the process.

If Easter comes and goes and you need to get back on your diet before summer comes, check out these Weight Watchers coupons. With a little motivation and know-how, you can start a successful weight loss program.

The Only Dieting Advice You’ll Ever Need

It is hard to try and fail, especially at weight loss. Maybe all you need is a new technique… a new way of looking at things.

First of all, suspend your thoughts about how to lose weight. What you already know isn’t working so let’s try something else.

* Choose your food wisely – While many foods that are pre-packaged offer convenience, they also offer more calories than you need. And, they still leave you hungry. Try nutrient-dense foods – foods that will fill you up by eating less of them. These include fresh fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans and lean meat. Avoid white flour products because they contain too much sugar.

* Motivate yourself to act – It might be a picture of yourself when you were thinner and healthier or a mantra that you adopt. Use it each day to motivate you to keep going even when you hit plateaus or suffer setbacks.

* Enlist the help of others – Sometimes two heads are better than one. A friend or family member can keep you accountable for the goals that you have set regarding weight loss. They can check in with you and also help you to grocery shop.

An established weight loss program can do wonders to help your motivation, too. We have a few we recommend, and we keep the site updated on coupons, so you never pay more than you have to: Weight Watchers coupons, Diet to Go Coupons, Medifast Coupons, NutriSystem Coupons. Look around and see which diet plan works best for you.

* Clean out your pantry – Yes, you may come in with bags of good healthy food but what about the food already in your cabinets? Remove the chips, high-fat snacks, full-fat cheeses and milk, and other foods that can sabotage your new lifestyle.

* Drink lots of water – Water is the refreshment for your internal body. Drink it before meals to partially fill up your stomach and eat less. It keeps your skin healthy, your hair shiny and your eyes sparkling.

* Eat breakfast – You are more likely to eat more during the day if you skip breakfast. You are also more likely to be sluggish during the day without a meal after so many hours of sleep. It doesn’t have to be much. Include protein to help you fight the cravings you usually feel throughout the day.

* Exercise – We all know how important this is, but not everyone knows how to get it done and have fun. Exercise doesn’t have to be boring or hard. If you like to dance, try a Zumba class or video. It combines hip-hop, Latin and salsa dancing. You burn a ton of calories and have a few laughs. If you like to ride bikes, take a ride around the neighborhood or through the park every other day. Doing what you love will help you to stick with an exercise program, rain or shine.

Give your current diet regimen a new lease on life. Use these techniques to finally break through the plateau and disappointment and discover a new you.